The arrangement and description of this
collection in 2004 and 2006-2007 was made possible in part by a grant
from the Documentary Heritage Program of the New York State Archives, a
program of the State Education Department.

M. E. Grenander Department of Special Collections & Archives
University Libraries / University at Albany / State University of New York
1400 Washington Avenue / Albany, New York 12222 / (518) 437-3935

COPYRIGHT: The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright.
Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections
and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other
restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the
researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this
collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
Administrative History

In 1989, Tracy Frisch, an etymologist who had suffered from pesticide poisoning, formed a non-profit citizens' organization called the New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NYCAP). Its mission was primarily
to reduce the use of hazardous chemical pesticides through education and advocacy .[1]

The early issues that NYCAP championed included the following: safe pest control
for schools, hospitals, and public places; reducing work exposure to chemicals; farm
worker protection; prevention of groundwater pollution; environmentally sound farming;
and strict regulation of pesticides. NYCAP also sought to provide leadership on these
issues to other organizations such as parent teacher associations, labor unions, and
general environmental groups. To achieve these goals, two major projects were set up:
the School Campaign and the Occupational Health and Workers Rights Projects.
Both sought to develop legislation on pesticide alternatives and educate farmers on sustainable agriculture[2]

One of the organization's first activities was to publish NYCAP News,
a quarterly newsletter that contained personal stories of members, legislative news,
information on pesticide issues, the newest staff and organization news, and upcoming
events. The publication was small in the beginning but grew to over thirty pages. It
eventually changed its name to Solutions with the spring 1996 issue.

In accomplishing its mission, conferences, workshops, training courses, and a mail
order clearinghouse were used to spread information on subjects such as school and workplace
integrated pest management, household pest control, organic farming and gardening, multiple
chemical sensitivity, workers' rights, and sustainable agriculture.[3]
These programs extended all over New York State, with similar conferences held
in the Capital Region, Western New York, Long Island, and Central New York. NYCAP
was known for its work on integrated pest management, participation in the Negotiated
Rulemaking Committee on Safe Housing, as well as its commitment to spreading awareness
of multiple chemical sensitivity.

Tracy Frisch was the first executive director and editor of the newsletter,
staying with NYCAP until mid-1995.[4] Marilyn DuBois served as interim director
until James Moore took over in late 1995. [5] Pamela Hadad-Hurst succeeded Moore
and remained executive director until the organization’s demise in 2003.

NYCAP's primary area of service was the east coast, but it did have membership nationwide.[6]
By 2003, NYCAP was run by a staff of three people, an executive director, an information director,
and a staff person at the Western New York branch of NYCAP that opened in May 2002.[7]
NYCAP was governed by a Board of Directors, and a Steering Committee made up of members
of other environmental groups, both national and regional.[8]

New York Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
Scope & Content Note

This collection documents the activities of the New York Coalition for Alternatives
to Pesticides (NYCAP) from its creation in 1989 through its demise in 2003. The
organization was formed as a not-for-profit group devoted to educating the public
about pesticides and other environmental dangers. It was able to spread its message
through conferences, workshops, mail order catalogs, information requests, school
programs, and contributions to policy-making.

The collection consists of administrative files such as committee and meeting
minutes, fundraising campaigns, by-laws, correspondence, annual telemarketing
campaigns, grant proposals and funding, invoices, prepaid sales receipts, and
technical assistance logs. Mailing and membership lists for NYCAP and some
related organizations are also included in this collection, along with state
and national legislation; government reports and publications; conference planning,
programs, and attendance lists; information requests, news clippings and journal
articles on pesticide-related topics; pesticide fact sheets; brochures and
pamphlets; pesticide labels; and copies of newsletters, magazines, journals,
and other publications of related groups received through a newsletter exchange.
The collection also includes numerous videotapes, audiotapes, photographs, slides,
computer media, posters, and artifacts.

This collection documents the professional career of Tracy Frisch in the decade
before her founding of NYCAP. Material from her career as a New York State Legislature
lobbyist and staff member is included, as well as materials from her research on
environmental pests and pollution during the 1980s.

Strengths of the collection include the the collection of the publications from
many local, state, and some national organizations, along with the collection of
information on pesticides and pests from about 1980 to 2000, and the prominent
subseries in the Issue Files Seriees, particularly Agriculture and Lawn, Health
Issues from Pesticide / Chemical Use, and School / IPM. Other strengths include
the conference material and the membership and mailing lists, which document the
first fourteen years of NYCAP.

See also the following collections in the M.E. Grenander Department of
Special Collections and Archives: the Malcolm Willison Papers
(APAP-055), which contains notes received from NYCAP
concerning an environmental science class Willison taught
at Siena College in 1991-1992; Environmental Advocates of
New York Records (APAP-104), which include files on NYCAP
activities; the Citizens’ Environmental Coalition (APAP 197);
and other collections available from the
Conservation and the Environment subject page.

New York Coaltion for Alternatives to Pesticides
Series Descriptions

This series contains records from the New York Coalition for Alternatives to
Pesticides and local organizations that are members of NYCAP, or that relate to
the staff (particularly Tracy Frisch) directly. It includes the following: committee
meeting minutes, agendas, and reports; fundraising activities; annual telemarketing
campaign call sheets; by-laws; correspondence; New York State Department of Labor
grants; donation receipts; health insurance information; information request letters;
technical assistance logs; and prepaid sales and invoice receipts from 1997-2002,
[which provide almost the only information on the organization from that time period
in terms of membership, information requests, donations, conferences, and sales.]

This series contains membership renewal forms and mailing lists. The mailing lists
are from several sources: names collected at events, names acquired through information
requests, names acquired from membership files, and names acquired through other
organizations. There are also files on name and address changes that were made known
to NYCAP. There are several mailing lists from support groups, and other pesticide
groups included in this series. The membership renewal forms cover 1990-2002.

This series contains local, state, and federal laws regarding pesticides and
the environment, as well as documents dealing with various government departments.
Other states' laws are present in this series, including California, Texas, Connecticut,
Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts and New Jersey. The North American Free Trade Agreement
is also addressed.

This series deals with the conferences that NYCAP planned, presented,
participated in, or attended. Additionally, this series also includes some
college classes on agriculture that were taught in cooperation with Tracy Frisch
before the formation of NYCAP. There are also workshops included in this series,
consisting of short classes or training sponsored by NYCAP. These files include
conference planning meetings, correspondence with speakers and participants,
attendance lists, advertisements, programs, schedules, location information,
and speaker notes.

This series is divided up into eight subseries that document various prominent issues addressed by
NYCAP in its work, particularly that used in its information clearinghouse and in programs it conducted.
Subseries 4: Activist Organizations and Coalitions is a collection of materials from groups involved
in promoting pesticide alternatives like NYCAP, or with other environmental issues generally.
The series includes articles, correspondence, reports, pamphlets, and notes. The majority of the
material was not produced by NYCAP, although it generally either part of a campaign they were working
on, or information they distributed.

This subseries consists of a collection of materials by local, state, and national activist
groups and coalitions, particularly those involved with pesticides or some other environmental /
health issues. Some worked closely with NYCAP, while in other cases it was not clear.
Included are materials produced by these groups, and well as NYCAP’s correspondence with them.

This subseries consists of materials on pesticide use and alternatives for agriculture,
and lawn care / landscaping. The latter includes information relating to individual homeowner
lawn care/landscaping, as well as that for institutions, particularly golf courses.

Documented in this subseries are the effects of pesticides and other chemicals on human health.
Issues and groups featured prominently include Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and the Maternal Infant
Network, as well as cancer, and women’s and children’s health.

This subseries documents NYCAP’s involvement in workplace safety and health issues particularly,
but not exclusively, its work on the Occupational Safety and Health Training and Education Program
(OSHTEP). This was a New York State Department of Labor funded program that made up an important
portion of NYCAP’s budget. NYCAP held numerous training conferences in connection with this program,
the main goals of which were to educate workers about proper pest control methods, the health issues
and risks of pesticides used in the workplace, along with low-risk pest control alternatives, and
workers rights / employers responsibilities.

This subseries contains materials on Integrated Pest Mangagement (IPM),
a method of pest control that NYCAP advocated. IPM is defined as “the coordinated
use of pest and environmental information with available pest control methods to
prevent unacceptable levels of pest damage by the most economical means and with
the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment”
[http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/ipm.htm ]. Most of the materials
are centered around schools, particularly the Health Schools Network (HSN).
Materials about pesticide / chemical use and related issues in schools, which
are not primarily about IPM, are also included. This subseries has been divided
into two additional subseries, one consisting of school-related materials, and
the other IPM-related materials in other institutions.

This series consists of publications from different environmental and local groups that
are in some way involved with NYCAP. Most of these publications are newsletter issues
received as part of the newsletter exchange program. Most of the publications are in a
limited run, covering only a few issues or years. The series has been divided up into
NYCAP’s publications, and those of other organizations. Aside from NYCAP’s own publications,
he most notable feature of this series is the substantial runs of a select few publications
that NYCAP used heavily for reference and distribution. This includes Common Sense
Pest Control Quarterly, IPM Practioner, Journal of Pesticide Reform, and Pesticides and
You.

This series contains mostly materials that NYCAP collected for its information clearinghouse.
It consists primarily of photocopies of the work of others, on specific pesticides and pests.
It has been divided up into two subseries, one for pesticides, and the other for pests.
Two important sources of the pesticides information were the EPA Fact Sheets and the Extension
Toxicology Network (EXTOXNET). The amount of material on each pesticide or pest ranges from a
page or two to an entire linear foot on mosquitoes.